


He Shadowed

by BChowdog



Series: His Decision [1]
Category: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Genre: Dark, Depressing, Drama & Romance, M/M, Sad, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-02-08 04:58:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12857238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BChowdog/pseuds/BChowdog
Summary: IMPORTANT: This is still His Decision, I made changes to the story in order to improve it. The updates begin at the fourth chapter, this only means that the story is more action-packed and the plot is more interesting.Summary:Professor Venomous has a secret, a dark entity threatening to destroy everything he cares about and everyone he loves. an he destroy this thing once and for all, or will Shadowy Figure take complete control of him forever?





	1. My Love

"It's so beautiful here..." I whisper. I gaze at the moonlit pool and the forest surrounding us. I feel a jolt of panic through my veins. I've been here before... no, HE has. "Are you okay Venomous?" I feel his hand lightly touch my shoulder. I gulped "Erm... yes I'm fine." His gaze tells me he doesn't think so. I sighed and sat at the edge of the small pond. He sits down too, and puts his hand on mine. My face starts to feel hot, despite the fact that it's a cool night. "What's wrong?" I jerk my hand away. "Nothing, I'm fine!" He just sits there in shock, taken aback. The tears begin to well up in his eyes. "Venomous I love you! And I hate seeing you this way!" he snaps. "Y-You love me?" I stammered. Of course he does says the scathing sarcastic voice in my head. I start to feel cold.Why would he ask you here if he didn't? "Boxman.." He wraps his arms around my waist, burying his head into my chest. I hold him closer. "I love you too." I whisper. After what feels like an eternity, we finally separate. "Venomous.." He whispers. His hand touches my face, he starts to lean closer to me. I close my eyes and lean forward. He kisses me, my heart feels like it's melting. I kiss him back. A jolt of fear brings me back to reality. You don't want me to hurt him do you? Shadow sneers, straining against the cage that keeps him from escaping. I push Boxman away. "I-I can't do this." I stammer. "What?" he whimpers. I fight back tears. "I'm s-so sorry." I sob. "Venom-" "I'm sorry I can't!" I snap, cutting him off. I take off running, the dark, moonlit, forest a blur. Trying to escape what happened, trying to escape that creature inside of me.


	2. My Rage

I stumble through the forest, unsure of where I am, my breath coming in deep rugged gasps. I stop, leaning against a tree, I try to clear my head. I love Boxman, but I can't. If HE were to escape, he would kill him. All he wants is suffering, all he wants is to take out his rage on others, even himself. Even me. "There's nothing you can do to stop me." he whispers. I will kill everyone you love, the moment I finally take control for good. Let me out Venomous, let's destroy this abomination of a world once and for all. I'm getting stronger Venomous, you can't deny it; you can sense it too. I've already escaped without you, in your dreams, your nightmares... even without you stepping down I've already made a lasting impact on this world." I fall to the ground, barely managing to stay on my knees. The tree supporting my weight is starting to dig into my side. "What have you done?" I whimpered, fighting back tears. His menacing laugh echoes in my head. "I've only unleashed what you knew was there." I start to tremble violently, and the tears start to fall down my face. "No! What have you done!? How could you let another person suffer our curse!?" He laughs as I sit there, trembling with fear, sobbing uncontrollably. "How could you let a child suffer like this!?" I wailed. "How could anyone make a child suffer? You ask yourself, for what other reason than their own satisfaction?" I feel paralyzed with horror, my eyes widening, focusing on nothing in fear. "Don't you remember what they did to us Venom? All those cold nights trapped alone? All those times we suffered, until this anger set us free?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I shivered in the cold dark basement, this house itself was nothing but ruins. The chain around my neck was so tight I could barely breathe. I take took the deepest breath I could, and closed my eyes, remembering my mother's teachings when we peacefully meditated, all those years ago, before the war reached us. The concrete felt like ice through the thin rags I wore, I tried to think back to happy times, but all I could find was anger. Everything around me was black. Then I saw it, the cage. It was somehow darker than the night around me, it had a dark purplish glow inside, and it seemed to be growing bigger with every thought. "Why? Why do they do this to me? What have I done to deserve this? Where's my mommy? Why did she leave me? How could she let this happen!?" It broke free. From that moment, I was nothing. I was a shadow, a figure, I was Shadowy Figure. I broke free from that wretched prison, and disappeared into the night.


	3. My Only

I drive down the street, still in a cold sweat. After what felt like hours, I finally managed to escape the forest and find my car. I hope Fink won't see I was crying, I don't want her to see me like this. I turn the corner and pull into the dimly lit driveway. I sigh, exiting the car and locking the car door. I walked up the driveway and opened the door. "Hi Professor!" My heart dropped, I forgot I had Shannon babysit Fink when I was gone. "So how'd your date with my dad go?" she asks giggling. "Here's your money Shannon." I say blankly, pulling a twenty dollar bill out of my pocket. Now concerned, she silently took the money and went to the door. "Thank you Shannon." I say. "Anytime Professor." She says cautiously, walking down the driveway and into her car. I heard the distant rumble as she drove away. I sigh and walk through the dimly lit living room. There's a board game laying on the coffee table, along with a couple of coloring books. I take off my coat and lay it gently on the dark blue couch. I walk over to the light switch and completely shut off the dim lights. I head down the hallway, heading towards Fink's room. I stop at a door to my right, and slowly open the door, making sure not to disturb the sleeping child. I make my way through the dark room, and kneel before the tiny bed in front of me. I gently lay my hand on her forehead. "My baby, my only child." I whisper. "I will kill everyone you love, the moment I finally take control for good. Let me out Venomous, let's destroy this abomination of a world once and for all. I've already escaped without you, in your dreams, your nightmares... even without you stepping down I've already made a lasting impact on this world." His words echo in my head. I can't escape... I can't fight this any longer. No, I won't let him hurt anyone ever again.


	4. The Next Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The changes I made start here. Enjoy!

"BEEP BEEP BEEEEP!"

I yawned. Despite everything that happened last night I somehow managed to drift into sleep. I blindly grab for that obnoxious alarm clock. What am I supposed to do now? I remembered the thoughts of that night, what I started planning to do. All I want to do is live my life, to raise my child/minion Fink, to be with the ones I love. I have to fight this. I can't let that thing destroy me. But how can I get rid of him entirely? He's in my mind, he can probably hear what I'm thinking right now. He's literally the incarnation of all the pain, powerlessness, and anger I have ever felt. Wait... that's it! I can't get rid of him now, but I can hold him off. If I stay happy, take a day off from work, and make a plan, I can find a way to destroy him.

I got out of bed, showered, got dressed, and started some coffee. I walked over to the freezer, and pulled out a bag of biscuits from the bottom shelf. I laid the bag on the counter and turned on the oven. Biscuits and gravy was probably my favorite breakfast, Fink's too. I got the rest of the ingredients and started cooking. I was almost done when Fink scampered in. "Good morning boss!" She said, smiling.

"Good morning Fink." I replied. She sat down at the table and waited patiently. I smiled, knowing she could smell what I was making. It was probably her sense of smell that woke her up in the first place. "Could you get a couple plates please?" I asked. "Yes Boss!" she said excitedly, going to the cabinet and grabbing two plates. In a few minutes we were happily eating breakfast.

The rest of the day went fine, we went to the park, got lunch, watched a movie, and went home. It went by so quickly, and it felt so bitter sweet. I pulled into the driveway, I sighed. "Are you okay boss?" I glanced into the back seat, I had a bad feeling she knew something was wrong, but I can't let her see it. 

"I'm fine Fink, let's go inside."

I spent the rest of the afternoon playing games with her. Sometimes when I was playing hide-and-seek or tag with the child I would feel very undignified, but today I felt no such feelings. However, I still felt the nagging fear of Shadowy Figure taking over, and I pushed these thoughts aside.


	5. The Next Night

I stood up from the couch, and smiled at the sight of my little minion fast asleep on the couch. The light from the TV lit up her face, and I could see her whiskers twitching as she dreamed. "It's time to tuck her into bed now." I thought. "And time to work on getting rid of Shadowy Figure." The thought of disposing of the dark entity is unnerving, but it has to be done, for Fink's sake at least. I began thinking of the possibilities getting rid of Shadowy Figure will bring.

"If I can get rid of him, I can finally be free. I can go to sleep without waking up in a black hood, I won't have to worry about that thing killing my child, maybe I can try to fix things with Boxman." I felt a wave of guilt as I thought about what happened with Boxman. The small inventor put his trust in me, and I hurt him. I pushed these thoughts aside, knowing that any negative emotions would be nothing more than ammunition for the embodiment of rage inside me. I tapped the sleeping henchmen on the shoulder.

"It's time for bed Fink." I whispered. She yawned, "Five more minutes?" she asked. I chuckled, "No. Come on Fink." She groaned, "Fine." she mumbled, standing up. The small minion began walking down the hall towards her bedroom. "Brush your teeth Fink." I called. She turned to her left, then I heard the water running in the bathroom.

I glanced down the hallway one last time, then I began making plans for the long task ahead of me. I reached into my jacket for my notebook, and felt my hand close around something metallic... wait, what the hell? I felt the raygun being pulled out of my jacket, and realized with a jolt of fear what was going on. "I will kill everyone you love." it whispered. I couldn't feel my arm, the numbness began to spread to the rest of my body. My legs gave way beneath me and I crashed to the ground. Shadowy Figure grabbed the edge of the coffee table, pulling himself to my feet.

He turned his head to the hallway, gun in hand. "No!" I screamed internally. I took control of my other hand, and slammed his arm and the ray gun into the table. "Boss?" Fink stood in the hallway, my hand clenched around the ray gun. Shadowy Figure began to take control, I felt the crushing pressure as he slowly spread his presence throughout the rest of my body. I pushed back, keeping my arm on the table.

We both struggled to take complete control of the same body. I felt his entire being forcing me to an isolated corner of my mind, the weight of his presence felt like Cob himself dropped a semi-truck on my chest. The pain was unbearable, the heat continued to build as I struggled, my face was soaked with sweat, and the sweater I wore felt like it was burning my flesh. "Hello, 9-1-1, what's your emergency?" I turned my head and saw Fink was on her cell phone. "There's something wrong with my boss!" Tears streamed down her cheeks, and I realized how terrifying this must look to her.

I felt Shadowy Figure's presence closing, and I turned my attention back to the struggle. I could vaguely hear Fink talking to the operator in the background, and I tried to think of what I needed to do next. In a few minutes a ambulance is gonna be here, as well as the police. I'm gonna be taken to the hospital, still struggling against Shadowy Figure, with no way to get rid of him. I might be able to trap him in my mind temporarily and eventually come back here, assuming I can defeat him. But then he'll still be in my mind, and he'll try to do this again.

I felt an overwhelming sense of dread, and Shadowy Figure began to finally take hold. "Cosma! Help! There's something wrong with my boss!" Fink was on the phone with Cosma now, I could barely make out her voice when she answered. "Are you okay Fink? Did someone hurt Venomous? Did you call an ambulance? I'll be right over, okay?"

I felt my hand loosen around my wrist. It's over. He's won. Fink walked down the hall, and came back to the living room with a first aid kit. "B-Boss, what's wrong? What's going on?" she blubbered. I struggled to open my mouth, every movement was pain. "Fink... run." I said. Her eyes widened in fear, she stepped back. 

Then she ran.


	6. Shadowed

"Fink... run." My boss was soaked in sweat, shivering and moaning in agony. I realized what was happening as soon as he said those words. Someone hurt him. Someone hurt my boss. As my boss's bodyguard and minion, I was trained in first aid so I could help my boss if he got hurt.

But I don't know what to do. He's not wounded, it doesn't look like he's poisoned. This is something worse. Much worse. I stepped away from my boss, seeing the ray gun in his hand for the first time. There's someone in here! I'm in danger!

I bolted down the hall, stumbling in the darkness. My boss's screams echoed down the halls, I ran as fast I could until I reached a heavy metal door. The lab. I just need to go through the lab to get to the back door. I stepped into the lab, and my boss's screams stopped. No.

The whole house was deadly quiet, then I heard the footsteps. I bolted to the door, but then I slammed into the lab equipment, falling on my back. The doors to the lab opened. A tall, dark figure stood at the entrance to the lab, ray gun in hand. I scampered to the back door and grabbed the door handle, pushing it downwards only for it to stay firmly in place. The door's locked.

I heard the light footsteps echo throughout the lab, barely making a sound. The only sources of light in the lab were a few heating lamps above reptile cages, and the moonlight shining through the small window in the back door. The shadowy figure walked closer, stepping around equipment I had knocked over. He walked closer until the moonlight shone on his face. "Boss!" I cried. I almost ran over to hug him, but then I saw his eyes.

His pupils were wide, his face dead and emotionless. Then a cold, menacing sneer spread across his face. "Not quite." he growled. He raised his arm, aiming the gun directly at my face. I stared at the red, rounded tip of the ray gun, paralyzed in fear as I watched it glow brighter and brighter until it was hot enough to burn.

In slow motion, I watched him pull the trigger. "NO!" There was an explosion of red light, I thought I heard my boss's voice scream out through the deafening Bang! I felt a searing pain rip through my ear, then I fell to the ground, and everything went black. I could vaguely smell what seemed to be a mix of burning metal, glass, and hair. Something warm dripped down my face. Some time passed before everything faded back into focus.

Someone else was on the floor, moaning and twitching in agony. He was wearing a black coat with a black scarf. There was a giant hole in the wall, melted glass and metal dripped from the remnants of the door. I stood, taking a moment to regain my balance before crawling over the rubble, and leaving the lab.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fink. I watched her escape from the lab, blood dripping down the side of her face. I almost killed her. The ray gun was at full power, just a few inches to the left and it could have blown her to pieces. I can't stop him. He'll kill everyone before I even get the chance. I gripped the ray gun in my hand, and held it to my head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I scampered through the grass on all fours, as I ran I heard another shot from the ray gun. I squeaked, almost falling over into the bushes.

He's coming after me. Police sirens echoed in the distance, a car pulled over on the side of the road. Cosma stepped out of the car. "Fink!" She cried. "Cosma!" I ran into Cosma's arms, and as the police swarmed around the mansion, I gazed at the smoke spiraling from the lab, and gazed at my home for the last time.


	7. Break

Ernesto's POV

I stepped into the break room, stretching my arms as I made my way to the TV. Raymond was laying on the couch, sipping a protein shake as he watched a football game. "Hey Ernesto." he said. I yawned, "Could you move over sport? I'd like to watch the news while I'm on break." He obliged, shifting over to the other side of the couch and changing the station to Action News. I sat down and made myself comfortable while Dynamite Watkins gave her introduction.

"THIS IS ACTION NEWS 52 BRINGING YOU YOU'RE DAILY DOSE OF ACTION NEWS!!! But first, there has been a horrible tragedy, involving a local villain, Professor Venomous." I felt my circuits go numb, as if all the energy emitted from my glorb has been cut off from the rest of my body. Raymond's face was frozen in shock, and he slowly turned up the volume.

"Professor Venomous was found dead at approximately 7:35 last night. His body was found in Venom Inc. labs, and his death has been ruled a suicide. He was a great villain and bio-engineer, and he will be sorely missed by the community." The TV shut off, and I turned to Raymond. The remote was clutched in his hand, and his arm began to tremble violently. "Oh Cob..." he whispered. I sat there in shock, the air freezing around us. "How are we going to tell this to dad?" Raymond whispered. "This will break him."


	8. Alone

Boxman's POV

"Ssshhh... it's okay child, go to sleep..." I cradled the small baby in my arms, humming softly as he slowly started to fall asleep. "It's only magic... isn't it amazing when you know?" I gently laid my son in his cradle for what seemed like the 100th time today, sighing with relief when he finally went quiet. I tip-toed out of the nursery and into my office. The desk was cluttered and covered with paperwork. 

I sighed as I sat down, taking a sip from what must've been my tenth cup of coffee. I wiped the sweat off my brow, between taking care of the baby and doing my job, I was beat. "Uh....sir?" Ernesto cautiously walked into my office, somehow looking even more nervous than usual. "What is it!?" I snapped. He winced, artificial sweat glistening on his forehead. "U-um Sir? I'm afraid I have terrible news." 

I felt a pain in my chest as he said that, and my headache worsened. "What is it?" I growled. He shifted uncomfortably, as if afraid of angering me anymore. "Y-Your business partner, P-Professor Venomous, he passed away, I'm so sorry." It took a moment to register in my semi-robotic brain. Then I started to feel sick to my stomach. "What? That's impossible! I saw him two days ago, he..." I trailed off, remembering how scared he was that night, the tears streaming down his face, him running off into the woods, never to speak to me again. "Oh God." I whispered. Another pain in my chest, my shock turns to anger. 

"HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!? WHO'S THE SON OF A BITCH WHO DID THIS I'LL KILL HIM!" I broke the mug on my desk, spilling coffee on my paperwork. I dug my nails into my desk, my face burning with anger. Ernesto stepped back once more, taking a moment to regain his composure. "He c-committed suicide Sir." he stammered. Time stood still as I took in what he said, realizing what this meant. "Sir?" Ernesto stepped forward and touched my arm cautiously. "Dad?" Dad. Ernesto hasn't called me that in years, preferring to use the more professional term "Sir". 

I was still out of breath from snapping earlier. This is all my fault. "Get out." I whispered. Ernesto nodded, leaving my office so I could be alone. I knelt to the ground, sweat dripping from my face. This is all my fault, it's my fault he's dead. I should've gone to him, I should've helped him. I could've stopped him. He's dead, and I'll never see him again, he'll never see my creation, our son, and it's all my fault. 

The pain in my chest intensified, and I could barely breath. I completely collapsed on the ground as my vision blurred. I need help. I called for Ernesto, no reply. The pain in my chest is excruciating now, and my breath comes in ragged gasps. Ernesto probably headed to the break room, I couldn't call loud enough for him to hear if I tried. My vision slowly fades to darkness, and everything starts to feel fuzzy. The pain in my chest is still there, but it seems less relevant now. I can hear a baby crying in the distance...my baby... our baby. Everything slowly goes to black as my breathing finally slows to a stop.


	9. Silence

"How did it go?" Raymond asked. I sighed, "Honestly, it went better than I expected. It's so awful, what happened." I resumed my usual position on the couch, and changed the station back to the sports channel. I honestly wasn't in the mood to watch the news anymore. The factory was quiet, except for the noises from the TV. Silence. No orders to attack the Plaza, no explosions, nothing. Ten minutes went by, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. "Do you think he's okay?" Raymond finally asked. 

I thought about checking on our father, but thought better of it. He wanted to be alone, and I should let him grieve. If only I knew how wrong I was. "I'm sure he's fine, he just needs some time to be alone." I replied. We sat there in silence, neither of us really paying much attention to the TV. A loud cry suddenly broke through the quiet, bouncing off the metal walls and echoing throughout the entire factory. The baby. 

I waited for Boxman to go to the child, I waited for the baby's crying to cease. Five minutes passed by, and baby's cries showed no signs of ceasing. "You should probably go help him." said Raymond. "He's been under a lot of stress, and he just found out that his best friend is dead, you should probably take care of the baby for a while until he's recovered." I nodded, "Better go check on him I suppose." I stood up and left the break room, walking up the stairs and to the door of my father's office. 

I felt uneasy as I slowly opened the door, hoping not to disturb my father. I stepped in to his office, and froze. Boxman's coffee was still all over the place, soaking the paperwork and dripping off the desk, shards of the mug he kept on his desk were everywhere, and Boxman... Oh God. I screamed, "Raymond! call an ambulance now!" I flipped Boxman over on to his back, trying to remember the emergency first aid programmed in me. His pulse... I pressed his neck, feeling for the gentle throbbing of his pulse, searching for any sign of life. I felt nothing. He's not breathing. He's dead.


	10. It'll Be Alright

"I'm sorry for your loss." I looked away from the doctor. How could I let this happen? I should've stayed with him, or at least keep a eye on him. I walked out of the hospital and went to my car. After taking a moment to fish the keys out of my pocket, I climbed into my car. I sighed, leaning back into my seat. I have to run the factory now, hire new engineers, keep the place running, take care of the kids... "YOU COB DAMN BASTARDS! I'll MAKE YOU ALL PAY FOR THIS! JUST YOU WAIT, I'LL BLOW THIS WHOLE DAMN PLACE TO PIECES!" Cosma was being dragged out of the hospital by two burly security guards. "Get lost." One of the guards growled. They pushed her out onto the pavement, and went back into the hospital. She stood up, wiping the dirt off her pants as she made her way to her car. Right next to mine. "H-Hello Ms. Cosma." I stammered. She turned to face me, her eyes filled with rage. "Did you hear about what happened to Venomous?" she questioned. "Yes." I answered, What did she know about Venomous? "Fink called me last night saying that he was in danger, when I got to his lab there was a hole blown in the side of the building, Fink was injured, and Venomous was dead. Luckily Fink is okay, she just has a torn ear. But now Venomous is dead, and they're gonna send her off to one of those damned orphanages where they ship all the kids POINT takes away from villains. I can't even adopt her because I'm a villain!" Cosma continued to rage until I cut her off. "Where did they take her?" I asked. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The orphanage was dark and decrepit. A few lights flickered on the ceiling, while a storm raged outside, occasionally lighting up the place with a flash of lightening. "Hello sir, welcome to the Happy Smiles Orphanage, is their anything I can help you with today?" The woman at the counter asked. "Uhh... Yes, I would like to adopt a child." I answered, squeezing the water out of my top hat. The woman sighed, "Well, of course you need to do some paperwork, can you hand over your card?" I obliged, handing my POW card over to the woman, who irritably scanned it. "Okay sir, it says here you are a villain aligned business man by the name of... Ernesto Boxman?" she said, squinting at the card. "That would be correct mam. " I replied. The elderly woman yawned, "Well sir, it seems that everything here is in order. Other than a few counts of property damage your record is clean. That's more than I'd expect from a negative." 

"Gee, thanks" I replied curtly, glaring at the woman at the desk as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She stood up and walked around the desk. "Follow me sir." she said. I trailed her as she went to the back of the orphanage. "You have no idea how many minions we get sent here by P.O.I.N.T after their masters get arrested. Honestly, if they aren't allowed to have their own babies why let them have baby minions? I hope they change that law, or I at least I would if it didn't mean having to deal with more children." I tried to keep my composure, knowing that beating the crap out of this arrogant old cow would mean losing his chance at getting Fink out of here. "Well, here they are." She opened the door at the end of the hall.

I walked in, and winced at the sight in front of me. 

There were about fifteen children in the small room, they were grubby, as if they haven't bathed in at least a week. A few attempted to play a board game in the corner, although most of the pieces were gone, several were curled up among a few beat up bean bags in the corner, most likely trying to stay warm, as the whole building was freezing. One little girl clutched a doll in her hands, the toy was missing all of it's limbs and most of it's hair had been ripped out. She sat in the corner, swaying gently and stroking the deformed plastic doll. 

I took a moment to compose himself, sweat dripping down my face. "Are there any new arrivals here?" I asked. A few children who had turned to look at me when I walked in turned away forlorn. "Of course! We just got a new arrival today! Please, take that psychopath off my hands, I'll take you to where the new ones are kept until they stop trying to kill the other brats."

She led me to another back room. I stepped into the tiny closet that it was, and looked around. The walls were covered in deep scratches, the floor was feathers from pillows that had long ago been ripped to shreds, the tiny bed was almost completely demolished, with whole bed posts snapped in half. I scanned the darkness fr a moment until finally finding the small child curled up in the corner. I knelt down and placed my hand on the minions head. "Hey Fink." I whispered. She ignored me, then I turned to the woman. "I'll take her." I said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After filling out pages of paper work, I finally walked out of the orphanage. I carried the tiny girl in my arms, who was curled up into a tiny ball. Instead of lashing out at me like I thought she would, she nuzzled her head into my shoulder and wept. "Ssssshhh..." I whispered. "Don't cry little one, I'll take care of you. It'll be alright."


End file.
